After years of the US allowing Afghanistan to become a paradise for private mercenaries, Kabul is fighting back (though, to be sure, a government with no legitimacy at all): The push by Afghanistan’s president to nationalize legions of private security guards before the end of March is encouraging corruption and jeopardizing multibillion-dollar aid projects, according…
Category General
If only mineral wealth could bring true gains for PNG
Here in Papua New Guinea, the local media is filled with stories that economic growth in Asia will help the local people: Papua New Guinea is well positioned and poised to reap huge benefits from the fast growing economies of Asia. ANZ Group Bank chief executive Mike Smith said closer trade and investment ties with…
What the resource curse is doing to Bougainville in Papua New Guinea
My following investigation appears in Crikey today: The rusted air vent is deafening and a whoosh echoes around the pit. Copper-polluted water sits in a pool nearby and trees are starting to take over the graded hillside. Rocky, uneven ground is where locals pan for gold, hoping to find a few grams to make some…
Exploiting Papua New Guinea with its people barely acknowledged
This story in the Wall Street Journal is typical of reporting on PNG. “Development” is framed as the saviour of this nation, despite the fact that decades of resource exploitation has left the vast bulk of citizens poor. I’m currently in the country researching a book on disaster capitalism, filming a documentary and a host…
Iraq stands up to remaining (and private) foreign forces
A positive move for a nation that deserves true independence: … Iraq deeply mistrusts private security companies and wants to limit their operations here, officials say, while the contractors themselves have faced bureaucratic delays and detentions. This mistrust stems from perceived arrogant behaviour by employees of these firms in the past and various incidents of violence…
At least MSM admits that CIA’s role is to ruin independent nations
This is classic mainstream “journalism” in the Washington Post. America has the right to intervene anywhere, haven’t you heard? The CIA is expected to maintain a large clandestine presence in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the departure of conventional U.S. troops as part of a plan by the Obama administration to rely on a combination…
Defending online news by playing hardball
As autocratic regimes, hackers, trouble-makers and fools aim to bring down websites that challenge authoritarian rule, such spaces need to be nurtured and protected. Reporters Without Borders on an important project: Filtering, denial of service attacks, withdrawal of content – censors use many different methods to silence news websites. In addition to drawing attention to…
What Murdoch will be remembered for; backing imperial wars
Interesting comment here, and undeniably true, in the UK Press Gazette. There are so few truly courageous journalists from the Murdoch stable who would know this to be true but refuse to speak out; gotta pay the mortgage on that charming 4 bedroom place, remember? Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre yesterday said other Fleet Street…
What can the poor empire do in Iraq? Reduce its footprint and cry
Via the New York Times comes a story that burns with resentment towards those ungrateful Iraqis. I mean, Washington “liberated” you and now you aren’t grateful every day for causing chaos in the country? Less than two months after American troops left, the State Department is preparing to slash by as much as half the…